This week, there has been a multitude of special reports and featured stories throughout the U.S. and global media about the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. One of the angles, however, that has not been covered adequately during this week long coverage of the anniversary is how the attacks transformed much of the U.S. media into cheerleaders and propagandists for the Iraq war and feeding the hysteria and frenzy over the fear of the American Muslim community after the 9/11 attacks.

Al Jazeera English has done an excellent, half hour perspective on their show, The Listening Post, on how the 9/11 attacks changed the U.S. media’s coverage and angle on critically covering (or lack there of) of the Iraq war and relations with the Muslim community in America.

During the months previous to the start of the Iraq war, there weren’t nearly any media organizations critically questioning the reasoning for the justification to the beginning the Iraq war as advertised by the Bush administration. The fear and jingoistic patriotic fervor that most media organizations in the U.S. subscribed to after the 9/11 attacks had a profound effect on U.S. foreign policy, national security interests, and lack of critical thinking analysis among the general public. In addition, the deaths of nearly 4,500 U.S. troops, and thousands upon thousands of Iraqis could have possibly been prevented if the U.S. media critically questioned the claims for war against Iraq by the Bush administration so long ago.

There are many consequences and legacies of the 9/11 attacks. The elimination of critical media coverage of U.S. foreign policy and national security interests is one of them and possibly, the most destructive consequence and legacy of the attacks.

One Response to A critique of media coverage post 9/11 by Al Jazeera

Are you kidding! Go and experience life in Iran or Libya or China. Try any of the totalitarian countries. My family ran from Stalin. Ask the families of the 10’s of millions that were killed by Mao. Go visit Cambodia. You think we have runaway militarism? Your truth is fiction. Your lives are a living fraud. You perpetuate the most insulting and naive attacks on a society that allows you to spew insults at it. You don’t deserve the freedom you haven’t earned. Our friends and family have made the ultimate sacrifice for you. We don’t expect your thanks, we’d just appreciate you keeping your ignorance to yourself.